There has to be a BETTER WAY to obtain a blood sample.

Specialties NICU

Published

Hi. I am not a nurse but a concerned parent of a half year old baby. I was searching online about the necessity of heel sticks and this is where I got to since the "heel sticks" topic is closed I will leave my comment here.

My baby was not a premature baby, she was just born with typical mild jaundice. So at the hospital she was taken away to test levels. I asked the nurse about what she will do and she said don't worry it is just a little prick in the foot. Okay. Three days later at the doctor's office they decided to retest levels. The technician or nurse who did it took MINUTES and it was not a "LITTLE PRICK."

I was devastated. My poor baby crying in AGONY. I didn't know what to do but ask do you really need that much blood. I am still traumatized about this experience. I am traumatized. WHAT ABOUT MY BABY???!! My poor baby crying in AGONY.

I had no idea about this to save her as this is my first baby.

If I knew about this "hell prick" I would NEVER EVER allow any nurse or anyone else for that matter to do that to my baby.

There has to be a BETTER WAY to obtain a blood sample.

And after reading some of these NICU patient comments I am devastated for these poor poor babies.

Please as nurses don't allow yourself to do this procedure if you are not good at it. Truth hurts, but you are really making these babies suffer. And I want to let you know I am angry at your profession for this. You have to find a right way to do this. It is unacceptable that these babies should suffer so much!! I want to scream and cry at the same time.

Specializes in Cvicu/ ICU/ ED/ Critical Care.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Clearly the OP is not a nurse and it is our job to educate the public to help them understand the complexity of patient care.

has there been any research in testing in another fashion? not all research says baby "forgets" the pain....

Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.
has there been any research in testing in another fashion? not all research says baby "forgets" the pain....

We do transcutaneous bilis to screen....but if the result is high enough to warrant phototherapy, we still have to do a serum. They do not always correlate, and sometimes the difference is a couple points. Often determines whether we treat or don't.

No one has suggested that they completely forget the pain. But there comes a point when one has to weigh the risk of causing them pain vs. not screening and causing very real long-term sequelae if hyperbilirubinemia turns into kernicterus.

I am pretty crunchy and try to be as gentle with a new baby as possible, have no problem with parents declining a lot of things (read any post of mine in a circ thread!). But there are some cases when causing them some discomfort is preferable to, say, them dying. (And see my aforementioned method for keeping them as calm and comforted as possible.)

Specializes in Nurse Scientist-Research.

Hey, they don't always die if they have kernicteris, sometimes they are just racked with seizures and severely neurologically impaired!

What experiences have you folks had in doing heelsticks while baby is on the breast? This was recommended to me during orientation (both as a way for baby to self-comfort and to increase nipple stimulation), and I've suggested it to mothers dozens of times and only had one take me up on it. I found the ergonomics awkward on my end, but the baby did well, just as well as some babies do with a soother and sucrose.

One of the moms who declined the suggestion was worried that her baby would associate breastfeeding with pain.

Specializes in NICU.

I'm thinking you'd have to be pretty agile...I could probably do it, but in 20 years, probably not so much, it would hurt my back! Plus what if the baby's heel on that side is not good for sticking? I shop around my heels for the least pricked side! If I was the mama, I would refuse too...what if the baby chomped on me as a reflex? ouch!

Your other option is a a venous or arterial draw. Both of those hurt WAY more than a heel stick would. Venous draws have the risk of "blowing" veins which means you can no longer get blood from that vein so you have to stick again in another. I'm sure you can attest to the fact that an IV poke is worse than the finger pricks you used to get at the pediatrician's office. Arterial draws can be DEEP and very painful.

Babies cry for almost anything- even when you take their temperature and that's not the least bit painful. Heel sticks may hurt for a moment but please trust your healthcare workers when we tell you we are using the least invasive method first.

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